Rescuers located and recovered the body of missing hiker Tatum Morrell from the Beartooth Mountains over the weekend.

Authorities believe the 23-year-old Morrell was climbing Whitetail Peak when she was caught in a “significant” rock slide and suffered fatal injuries, potentially on July 2. 

The Idaho resident and Montana State University student had last been heard from on July 1, when she contacted her family via a satellite communicator from the Shadow Lake area outside Red Lodge, Montana. Despite an intense search that followed her disappearance — an effort that included Park County Search and Rescue personnel — Morrell’s whereabouts remained unknown until Saturday.

The area where she was located was well below Whitetail couloir and had been searched numerous times, Red Lodge Fire Rescue said in a news release. However, because Morrell was mostly buried under rocks, she was extremely difficult to find, the emergency service said.

“After almost two months of extensive search efforts, we are relieved that she is able to be returned to her family,” said Assistant Chief Jon Trapp with Red Lodge Fire Rescue.  “The effort volunteers put into finding Tatum [Morrell] surpassed anything I’ve seen in my 17 years with search and rescue operations; it was absolutely incredible.”

On Sunday, Two Bear Air and a helicopter from the Yellowstone County, Montana, Sheriff’s Office worked together with Red Lodge Fire Rescue and the Carbon County, Montana, Sheriff’s Office to recover Morrell’s body from the rugged mountains. The recovery teams were met by her family and Red Lodge Fire Rescue personnel at the Red Lodge Airport on Sunday.

Morell was an avid and experienced hiker who planned to climb five mountain peaks over 12,000 feet in the West Fork of Rock Creek.

Red Lodge Fire Rescue, the Carbon County Sheriff and the family of Morell thanked all the agencies and volunteers that assisted “in the incredible search efforts.”

Morrell’s family described her last month as “a fiercely independent, adventurous soul who loved the mountains. We find some solace in knowing she passed in a place she loved.”